December Birthstone - Fely's Jewelry and Pawnshop

Source: https://yourbirthstones.com/december-birthstone/

If you are a December born you are a lucky person as you can wear three gemstones that will give you good fortune and luck. The three gemstones for December month are Turquoise, Tanzanite, and Zircon.

Turquoise gemstone is one of the most important birthstones for December month. It is available as a semi-transparent to opaque gem and its color varies from blue to green. Tanzanite is another gemstone for December born and was discovered during the late twentieth century. It has emerged as a beautiful and dazzling blue gem and was firstly discovered from Tanzania in 1962. The third gemstone, Zircon is available in a range of colors from red, orange, yellow, brown, green, and blue. But colorless zircon gem is also available and is famous for its brightness and character of scattering the light.

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The Meaning of the December Birthstones

Turquoise is one of the favorite gemstones of ancient Egyptians which was used to adorn their royalties. In ancient European culture, Turquoise meant ‘forget me not’. This gemstone is the national gemstone of Tibet and they believe that this stone will provide them with health, wealth, and good fortune.

Tanzanite gemstone is so named in honor of the origin of its country, Tanzania. Its color ranges from pure royal blue to violet. Nowadays, this stone is gifted for the 24th wedding anniversary.

The name Zircon originated from the Arabic word ‘Zarkun’, which means ‘cinnabar’ or ‘vermilion’, and from the Persian word ‘Zargun’ means ‘gold color’.

Turquoise- The Gemstone that Adorned the Taj Mahal

Turquoise gemstone is considered the most popular birthstone for December month. The name comes from the French word ‘Turquoise’ which literally means ‘Turkish stone’. This stone derived its name Turquoise because it was first exported to Europe through Turkey. Its mesmerizing sky blue or green color makes this stone favorite for many royalties. This stone is made of aluminum phosphate which contains copper.

How is the Turquoise Gemstone Formed?

Turquoise is formed by the filtering of aqueous acidic solutions by the activity of weathering and oxidation to the pre-existing minerals. Turquoise is normally found in dry areas with large rocks crammers or inside the cavities and cracks of volcanic rocks. In this area, the weather factor plays a major role in the formation of turquoise stone.

But in some areas, its formation takes place in different steps. This may be due to the geographical changes in the topography of the area. In some areas, its formation takes place by the decomposition commodities of copper sulfide deposits or potassium orthoclase with porphyritic intervention. Normally turquoise is formed under a distance of 20 meters but in some cases, it may form deeper in the fractures of stones where the intensity of water penetration is high.

History of Turquoise Gemstone

In ancient times, turquoise was the first-ever mined gemstone that was excavated around 6000 years ago in the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula. It was mined around 3000 years ago in Iran. In ancient Egypt, these stones have been used for 1000 years for adorning the Egyptian royalties. They also used to bury this stone along with mummies. They used to adorn the burial mask of the well-known pharaoh Tutankhamen with these precious stones. Most of the people in Egypt used this stone as jewelry. They often make jewelry like rings, necklaces, earrings with these stones.

In India, the world-famous wonder Taj Mahal was also used to decorate with different colored turquoise gemstones along with other precious gemstones like ruby, sapphire, emerald, diamond, etc. Many shades of turquoise adorn the Egyptian royalties. In Persia, turquoise is often used extensively to decorate mosques both inside and outside. According to Egyptian mythology, Goddess Hathor was considered the patron of the turquoise gemstone. So, she was also called Lady of Turquoise, Mistress of Turquoise, and Lady of Turquoise Country.

Availability of Turquoise

In comparison to other gemstones, turquoise is the first mined gemstone. Its excavation is done only on a small scale due to its scarce availability. In the United States, miners are trying to recycle through massive scale copper mining operations. Some of the leading producers of the turquoise gemstone include:

Iran

It was one of the leading producers of the turquoise gemstone. Its excavation for this gemstone started over 2000 years ago. In the Iranian language, this stone is called “perozah” which means ‘victory’. Among Arabs, it is known as “fairuzah” and in contemporary Persian language it is mentioned as “firuzeh”. In Iranian culture, the blue colored turquoise is used to adorn the dome of their palaces. This is because in Iranian architecture it adds beauty to the palace and looks like heaven on the earth.

Sinai

It is one of the historical dynasties of ancient Egypt around 3000 years ago. Turquoise gems being extracted before this dynasty from the Sinai Peninsula. In the South Coast of the Peninsula there exists around six mines with an area of approximately 650 square kilometers. The most important mines of this are Serabit-al-Khadim and Wadi Maghareh is believed to be the oldest known mines. One of the mines is devoted to the God Hathor of a historical temple.

The United States of America

The main supply of this gemstone is from the United States. Other sources of Turquoise gemstone are Tibet, China, Australia, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan. Today, America is the leading producer of Turquoise gemstone, of which most of the stones come from southwestern states that are near Tombstone.

Types of Turquoise

his gemstone possesses different shades of blue to green. This stone is famous for its color and beauty. Different types of turquoise gemstones are as follows:

Dry Green Turquoise

This stone is famous for its color. It ranges from milky white and light blue color and brown matrix. The highest value is for the dry creek with a brown matrix.

Carico Lake Turquoise

It is a gemstone with dazzling shades of blue to lime green. Due to the presence of high levels of faustite and zinc, it appears in lime green color. This is a rare variety of turquoise. Due to its limited supply, it is one of the most expensive turquoise varieties of the gemstone.

Fox Turquoise

It’s gorgeous shades range from green to aqueous blue. It is one of the very good materials used for making jewelry.

Lone Mountain Turquoise

Its color ranges from clear blue to dark blue and looks like a spider web. One of the rare pieces of this gemstone is dark blue with a black spider web.

Royston Turquoise

These types of turquoise stone are famous for their bold color variation, ranging from soft blue to emerald green. They are also available with a variety of matrix-like golden brown, black, white, and many more colors.

Sleeping Beauty Turquoise

It is available in sky blue with an oval shape. It is good for making jewelry.

Some Interesting Facts About Turquoise Gemstone

It is one of the oldest gemstones used for making jewelry for more than thousands of years.
In Tibet, they considered turquoise gemstones as a symbol of good fortune. Turquoise is considered to be the most valued gemstone in Tibet.
It is available in blue color and also with various shades of blue color. The blue color makes this stone a favorite to many people around the world.
The most expensive type of turquoise can be found in Northwest Iran. Other deposits are in Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Israel, Mexico, Tanzania, and the US.
In ancient Persia, the Emperors wore this stone as a protector around the neck and wrist to save themselves from an unnatural death.

Turquoise Jewelry

Like all other gemstones, jewelry can also be made by turquoise gemstone. Its vibrant blue color is the highlight of the jewelry.

Turquoise as Rings

Blend of gold and silver with the variation of blue color and green color makes your jewelry a vivid attraction. Usually, this gemstone is given as a gift for the 11th wedding anniversary.

Turquoise as Pendant

Blue gemstone combines with platinum and silver and gives a classy look to your pendant.

Turquoise as Necklace

Different shades of the stone give a vibrant look in blue color and make it highly attractive.

How to Clean Turquoise gemstone?

Clean your gemstone with pure water and a soft-bristled brush and do not add chemical cleaners to clean it.
Do not soak it in the water. Gently rub it with a soft-bristled brush under running water.
Rub it with a soft cloth towel.
Clean the metal part of your jewelry with any type of cleaning agent and be very careful while cleaning it. Do not touch it with the stone.
It is good to clean your jewelry at least once every month. This will help to increase the life of your jewelry.
After cleaning keep it safe in a box by wrapping the jewelry in a soft cloth.

Tanzanite- The Rarest Gemstone Only Found in One Spot

The second option for those who are born in December month is Tanzanite gemstone. One of the most important things about this stone is it is discovered only in one place, Tanzania. Its name was derived from the country of its origin. It is available in many ranges of colors like gray, yellow, brown, pink, green, blue, violet and even it is available in colorless.

How Tanzanite Gemstone is formed?

Around 585 million years ago on the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, deposited the most beautiful gemstone Tanzanite. It reveals its presence to the world only during late 1967, till then it stayed as a mysterious gemstone. The intense heat in Mount Kilimanjaro and the continuous movement of tectonic plates that are rich in minerals led to the formation of this gemstone. The continuous movement of the tectonic plate causes collisions with each other. The igneous rocks between these plates meet with each other with more intense pressure. Due to this high pressure, the rocks may reach their melting point and form various crystals. This happens only in the area of Tanzania due to its different geological topography.

Availability of Tanzanite

It is the only gemstone that is found only in one area in the whole world. It is found in Tanzania with a small scale mining area near the Mererani Hills.

History of Tanzanite Gemstone

It is one of the rare gemstones that is found only in Tanzania at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. According to a popular story, it is believed that tanzanite was discovered when lightning struck the grassland in Mount Kilimanjaro. The grassland caught fire and the tanzanite present in the grassland started burning and turned blue. The tribal people of Massai tribes living in the foothills of Kilimanjaro then found this precious gemstone. The excavation of tanzanite started during the year of 1967. Due to its scarcity and beauty, it is one of the most expensive gemstones.

Some Interesting Facts About Tanzanite Gemstone

Tanzanite is considered the birthstone for December month. Those who are born in December wear this stone and they will experience good fortune and wealth.
It is the only gemstone with one known source in the whole world. It is available only in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, Northern Tanzania.
It is considered to be more valuable than diamond and sapphire.
It is believed that tanzanite was formed 585 million years ago, but its excavation and discovery started only in 1967.
Tanzanite reflects three different colors in its rough form that is blue, red, and violet.

How to treat Tanzanite Gemstone?

One of the best ways to treat tanzanite gemstone is heat treatment. The color of tanzanite during mining is a mixture of brown and blue during the time of excavation. The stone needs to go through a heating process to get the blue color. The stone can get heated naturally beneath the earth by hot lava, or by the action of hot metamorphic rocks. But if this natural heat doesn’t take place gemologists treat the gemstone through an artificial heat process. The heating of tanzanite is done at approximately 600 degrees celsius for an hour. It is entirely different from the heat treatment of sapphire. Most of the stones are heat-treated to up to 1700 degrees celsius for more than a day or week but tanzanite requires only heating and not high-temperature treatment unlike most of the gemstones.

Tanzanite Jewelry

It’s the brilliant blue color when blended with silver and gold gives a classy look at all the jewelry.

Tanzanite as Pendant

A tanzanite blend with a diamond in silver will give you a soothing appearance and will look gorgeous.

Tanzanite as Rings

When the royal blue color of Tanzanite combines with a diamond twisted vine ring the combo is more mesmerizing. Mostly this is given as a gift for the 24th wedding anniversary.

Tanzanite as Earrings

The dark blue color of the stone gives the earrings a fresh look and makes them highly attractive.

How to Take Care of Tanzanite Jewelry?

As compared to ruby, sapphire, or peridot, tanzanite is a soft stone. You should be very careful while cleaning your tanzanite jewelry.

Use warm and soapy water to clean the gemstone.
Clean it with a soft-bristle toothbrush.
Clean your stone carefully so that no soap sticks inside the jewelry as it may affect the shining of your jewelry.
Dry it down by rubbing a soft clean cloth.
Do not use ultrasonic cleaner. This may damage your jewelry as a high frequency of waves and heat may affect the clarity of your tanzanite gemstone.

Zircon- The Oldest Known Gemstone

Zircon is the last stone that can be used as the birthstone for those who are born in December month. It is considered this gemstone has existed for more than 2000 years. It is a common gem and is found at places having a composition of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. It occurs in a wide variety of color ranges. Colorless zircon gemstone is often used as an alternative gemstone for diamonds. This proves that colorless zircon exhibits some characteristics of a diamond gemstone.

How is Zircon Gemstone Formed?

Zircon does exist on the earth for more than 4 billion years. Its traces were found only in the early 1990s in sandstone from Western Australia. But the formation of zircon is still a mystery. Today also studies are going on and researchers search in the oldest rock of the continental crust for any evidence left for zircon gemstone. The zircon contains vital information about the formation of the earth. It is formed by the crystallization in magma or metamorphic rocks. It is highly resistant to chemical attacks.

Availability of Zircon Gemstone

It is one of the gemstones that are available in many countries. The zircon deposits are found in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam for more than hundreds of years. The other sources of zircon stone are in France, Espaly-Saint-Marcel in New South Wales, Australia, Ukraine, South Africa, Madagascar, Russia, Italy, India, Canada, Thailand. Australia is the largest producer of zircon in the world.

History of Zircon Gemstone

In the middle ages, the zircon gemstone was considered as a gem for getting sound sleep, keeping away evil spirits, and providing a peaceful and happy life. The word zircon is derived from the Arabic word ‘Zarkun’ which literally means ‘cinnabar’ or ‘vermillion’ and from the Persian word ‘Zargun’ which means ‘gold-colored’. It is considered the oldest gemstone on the earth which is about 4.4 billion years ago. Amongst all colored zircon gemstones blue colored zircon is favorite among people.

Types of Zircon Gemstone

Zircon gemstone is available in varieties of colors like blue, red, yellow, white, green, brown, etc. But white zircon is considered as most valued and beneficial among all other zircon gemstones. Some of the varieties of zircon gemstone include White, Blue, Yellow, Red, and many other fancy Zircons.

How to Treat Zircon Gemstone?

Mostly zircon stone is available in varieties of colors. But for selling purposes normally zircon are treated with heat. Heating the stone to 1450 degrees Celcius will ultimately change the color of the stone.

Some Interesting Facts About Zircon?

Zircon is a pervasive mineral in the earth’s crust and the oldest known mineral.
It is used as an alternative for diamonds.
In Jewish folk, they believed that a God named Zircon guided Adam and Eve to the Eden Gardens.
The color of the zircon can be changed by heat treatment. Variation in the temperature between 800-1000 degrees Celsius can make a change in the color of the stone.

Zircon Jewelry

Zircon as Rings

As an alternative to diamond, the colorless zircon stone is often used as an engagement ring.

Zircon as Pendant

The blue shade and reddish-brown color of zircon stone are often used to make the pendant.

Zircon as Earrings

The different colors of the stone give a dazzling look to the earrings and make a gorgeous appearance.

How to Take Care of Zircon Jewelry?

Use a soft bristle brush to clean the jewelry.
Use warm and soap water to clean it and dry it with a soft cloth.
Do not clean it under ultrasonic and steam cleaners. It will damage the shining of the stone.
It is good to clean your jewelry at least once every month.

Buying Guide for December Birthstone

Carat Weight

The quality of the stone is determined by the carat weight of the gemstone. Be sure that your buying stone has the correct carat weight.

Cut

Every stone has its own cutting style. Perfect cutting of the gemstone will give a beautiful appearance to the stone.

Color

Every stone has its own pattern of color. Check the color of your stone under daylight.

Where to Buy December Birthstone?

You can purchase birthstone from any of the jewelry. But the only quality and good stones will give you better results otherwise it affects your life negatively. For a trustworthy dealer, you can approach James Allen, Blue Nile amazon, Whiteflash, Ritani, and Jared.

Final Words

Birthstones are known for their immortal quality which extends to generations. People claim ample results about the power of these gemstones. The authenticity behind these claims though is not proven yet many people report positive effects in their life and career. Thus the demand for these gems continues to exist and even increases with time.